Before Inside Llewyn Davis: The 5 Best Music Moments From Coen Brothers Movies

Joel and Ethan Coen’s Inside Llewyn Davis isn’t just a sad and beautiful tribute to the world and storytellers of folk music, it's also a continuation of a great tradition. Dating back to the start of their careers in the mid-80s, the Coens have always shown a deep appreciation for all kinds of music in their films, and have made regular use of different songs and artists in new and meaningful ways – whether the tracks are the central focus of the story or not. But which ones truly stand out as the cream of the crop?

With Inside Llewyn Davis now in limited release, I’ve gone back through the Coens entire catalog to pull out the five best movie music moments that the filmmakers have generated over the course of their career. Which ones made the cut? Read on to find out!

Whether you’re an accountant, a baker, an ad executive or a screenwriter, there’s a universally great feeling that comes over all of us when we finish a major project. You think back over all of the struggles and complications that you’ve faced while working and reflect on the fact that it’s all in the past. All that’s left is time for celebration. That’s exactly what’s going through the mind of Barton Fink as he dances his head off towards the end of the Coens’ 1991 drama.

Even if the film was set in 2013 instead of 1941 you would expect the song to remain the same in this fantastic scene. The big band swing is utterly perfect in capturing the energy that Barton is exhibiting and it makes his wild, flailing dancing actually appear appropriate in context as he celebrates finally completing the first draft of his first Hollywood screenplay. Of course, much like everything else during Barton’s time in Los Angeles, everything goes quickly down the drain when the intellectual writer has an ego attack and gets into a scuffle, but the high-tempo music only becomes more appropriate as chaos escalates.